After the wild onsen incident, I checked my phone. 9:20 PM. Finally, it was over. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. All I wanted was to crawl into my bed and sleep for a week.
Just as I was about to slip away, a strong grip landed on my shoulder.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Aki’s voice rang out, stopping me in my tracks.
I turned my head slowly, my face a mixture of despair and exhaustion. "Home. Obviously."
"We still have one more stop!" she declared, tightening her grip like some villain preventing the hero from escaping.
"What?!" I groaned, "We have work tomorrow!"
"Oh, come on," Aki whined, dragging me forward despite my resistance. "I promise it won't be too late!"
Keiko, who looked just as dead as I felt, got caught by Ruka and Miko, who dragged her along like two bouncers escorting an unconscious guest.
"Where exactly are we going?" Keiko muttered weakly.
"Tell us, Aki," I threatened, my patience running thin. "If you don’t, I’m calling it a night."
"Okay, okay!" Aki raised her hands in surrender. "It’s just a dessert café!"
I narrowed my eyes. "Promise you're not lying?"
"I'm not!" she insisted.
Ruka and Miko giggled. "You two bicker like an old married couple," Ruka teased.
We reluctantly followed Aki to the café, and to my relief, it was indeed just a cute little dessert place. No secret parties, no forced karaoke, no more baths. Just a quiet place to relax.
"My treat! Order anything you want," Aki declared proudly.
Ruka, Miko, and Keiko immediately brightened up and started ordering like they hadn’t eaten in days.
"Thank you, Aki-sama!" Ruka dramatically bowed.
"You’re the best, Aki!" Miko added, clapping her hands.
"You’re so generous," Keiko said, eyes practically sparkling.
Meanwhile, I just ordered a drink. I wasn’t really into cake.
After a while, we surprised Aki with a small birthday cake and sang for her.
"Thank you, guys! I love you all!" Aki beamed, her eyes twinkling.
"You sound like it’s your first birthday party," I joked.
"Well," Aki said, leaning on her elbows. "It has been a long time since I had friends to celebrate with."
"Wait, you didn’t have friends to celebrate with before?" I asked, surprised.
"One year is a long time, right?" She smirked.
I sighed, shaking my head. "You’re really something else."
"Hey! Why so rude?" She pouted.
The others laughed.
"You two are so childish," Keiko sighed.
"Yeah, it feels like babysitting two kindergarteners," Ruka added.
"Excuse me?! How dare you bring me down to her level?" I gasped.
Miko chuckled. "Okay, fine. You’re an elementary school kid."
The table burst into laughter while I crossed my arms, grumbling.
Just when things seemed calm, Aki suddenly clapped her hands together. "Let's play a game!"
We all turned to her.
"What kind of game?" I asked cautiously.
Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Drinking game."
My ears perked up. "I’m in."
"I’m out!" Keiko immediately protested.
"Oh, come on, Keiko, it’ll be fun!" Miko encouraged.
"Yeah, just once! For my birthday?" Aki pleaded.
Keiko looked at me hesitantly.
I sighed and took her hand. "I’ll protect you, don’t worry."
She sighed in defeat. "...Fine."
Aki pumped her fist. "Alright! The one who gets drunk first loses!"
"Loser gets a punishment, right?" I asked.
"Ooooh, what should it be?" Aki grinned.
Miko thought for a moment. "And what does the winner get?"
Aki’s face lit up. "How about... the loser becomes the winner’s servant for a week?"
"Sounds fun!" Ruka said.
"That’s crazy," Miko muttered.
Keiko slammed the table. "A WEEK?! That’s too much!"
"How about one day?" I suggested.
Aki crossed her arms. "Three days or nothing."
I sighed. "Fine."
"Yay! It’s settled!" Aki cheered.
Keiko groaned. "I hate all of you."
Aki ordered a round of drinks, and the game began.
Round 1:
"Cheers!"
I finished mine easily. Keiko took a sip and immediately coughed.
"Oh no, Keiko," Miko giggled.
"She’s already struggling," Ruka smirked.
Keiko just sat there, looking dazed.
"Keiko’s OUT!" Aki announced.
"Waaait... I... what...?" Keiko mumbled.
Yeah. She was gone.
Round 2:
Another glass down.
Miko and Aki swayed in their seats.
"...This is... strong..." Miko muttered.
Aki giggled at absolutely nothing.
Both collapsed onto the table.
"Wow. That was fast," I said.
"Too weak!" Ruka declared proudly.
Round 3:
It was just me and Ruka now.
She grinned at me. "Think you can keep up?"
"I should be asking you that."
We downed our third glasses.
Ruka’s face turned red. She blinked.
And then—
BAM!
Ruka fell forward, face-first onto the table.
Silence.
I blinked.
"...Did I just win?"
Realization hit me.
I was surrounded by four drunk girls.
This was a disaster.
---
After sitting in regret for a few minutes, Aki and Miko slowly woke up.
I nudged them. "Hey, we need to go home."
"Huh?" Aki slurred.
"You okay to get home?" I asked.
Aki wobbled but nodded.
Miko gave me a thumbs-up. "Yeshh..."
I sighed. "I’ll find a taxi for you guys."
After waiting for about 15 minutes, we finally found a taxi. I looked at Miko and said, "You're responsible for Ruka, okay?"
Miko saluted. "Got it! Ruka baby, let’s go!"
I stared. "...Ruka baby?"
Miko just dragged Ruka inside the cab like it was normal.
Aki followed, giving me a lazy salute. "Good job, soldier."
The taxi drove off, leaving me with one last problem.
Keiko.
Still completely passed out.
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Keiko, wake up. We need to go home."
No response.
I sighed again.
The train had already stopped running since it was too late. Should I just grab a taxi too? I sighed.
I tried waiting for a taxi, but not a single one showed up in the next 20 minutes.
"...Guess I have no choice."
I bent down, lifting her onto my back.
"Ugh, I hope I still have the strength to carry her even though I’m a girl now," I muttered.
With Keiko piggybacked on me, I started the long walk home.
"Let’s go, my drunk princess," I sighed.
And thus, the most chaotic night of my life finally came to an end—or so I thought.